Fact: you could use a little bit of zen before the tidal wave of holidays that's about to descend upon us. Or at least you could use a little something to get you through this sometimes supremely stressful time of year.

Happily, these groovy-patterned cookies are also super-easy to make, super-delicious, and will keep you occupied just long enough to avoid your awkward Uncle Harry's bad jokes or Great-Aunt Patricia's tales of medical woes... and they'll also keep your family satisfied with sugary goodness so they won't get on your case about all those things families love to get on your case about during the holidays. Not that I'd know.

Zen Stone Cookies

Note: While Castella has suggested this recipe as a use for leftover shortbread butter cookie doughs from the book, I actually used leftover scraps of dough from two different batches of chocolate and butter cookies, using the recipe more for construction; it worked out fine, so I think you could probably use a variety of different buttery cookie doughs to make these; just be sure to adjust the baking time and temperature accordingly.